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Wednesday, 30 September 2015

Vegan Mofo comes to an end and the last prompt is Fusion Food. Where do I start, there are so many, but here are few fusion eats to get you thinking.-Irn Bru, Curry and Chips-Roti/Chappati Wraps-Thai Curry with Chips-'Chicken' Tikka Hoagie Roll-Dhokla Sandwich Bombay SandwichFor those of us who live in the United Kingdom, even a cup of tea is fusion, think about it. Anyway, I had grand plans to conclude my participation in this years Vegan Mofo with a hardcore fusion recipe; or showcasing a handful of fusion recipes featured on my blog from the past.

Then I remembered this heart-shaped Zucchini-Courgette and Chocolate Cake with Matcha Icing that I made a couple of weeks back.

So this vegetarian would like to say Thank you to every one who came by through Vegan Mofo and left a comment, each has been appreciated. I have bookmarked many recipes and hope to make them in the not too distant future, but I've also met some bloggers whose blogs I will continue to follow now that I have discovered them. Thank you and thank you to Vegan Mofo.

Tuesday, 29 September 2015

I don't do road trips, not that I don't want to but I get travel sickness. The closest to a road trip would be journeys to and fro Scotland to Wales; or to the other side of London, England when visiting family. A journey that sometimes took over 8 hours depending on traffic We always take with us bottled water, nibbles like crisps or a trail mix, but also a flask of black coffee, vegetable wraps or pasta salad and for sweet, because there is always room for something sweet: flapjacks.

But for the prompt today I thought I would share a cake, you may find it hard to say no to this cake, its Violet and Chocolate Cake in the shape of a heart.

Monday, 28 September 2015

I made this recipe a couple of weeks ago when I was looking for inspiration to use up the last of my courgettes. Apparently, the descriptive 'Calabacitas' is often used in Mexican restaurants to describe a vegetarian filling that usually contains squash, corn and spices. The recipe suggested serving this as a Taco filling, but I am not into taco's that much - Burrito being my first choice, always, but this time round I fancied a bit of crunch and decided to make some Tortilla baskets.

The calabacitas was utterly gorgeous, not just the colour: gold, green and cream, but also to eat, the sweetness from the sweetcorn, the buttery butter beans, the zing from the lime. For me though, it was both the coriander and jalapenos that elevated the courgettes to a thing of sheer culinary delight. I served my portion of Calabacitas in a tortilla basket. The crunch was amazing. D insisted on having his burrito style with soured cream, grated cheese and salad. I personally don't think it required cheese, but hey ho - each to their own tastes. I am sharing this with Meat Free Mondays.

Sunday, 27 September 2015

Early in the week, whilst I was doing some research for work (honestly I was), I stumbled on The Best Jollof Rice Competition held in Brixton, London today. It the UKs first ever Jollof competition, in past there have been Best Rum Cake. Its hosted by The Afrikan Family Works. I love these grassroots community spirited competitions. I thought I would compete virtually with my vegan Jollof variation, but I sincerely wish the hosts and the participants the best and hope the event is a success. For those of you unfamiliar with Jollof. Jollof rice or Benachin which means 'one pot' originates in Senegal. Jollof is eaten all across West Africa and has recently become appreciated alongside the South Indian Pilaf and the Spanish Paella.

So here it is my vegan Jollof rice. I added peppers, okra and chickpeas to the Jollof rice only because I didn't have an accompaniment with it. I am no expert at making Jollof, in fact this is my first time and I adapted and combined two different recipes, so I hope my blog readers of African descent will approve, or point me in the right direction, just please don't be mean. As a person of South Asian heritage who has seen so many much loved curry and dal recipes completely changed that they are no longer recognisable as curries or dals, I completely understand the reaction to this version of Jollof and I would agree we should not allow that version to become the official one just because it rates high in page rankings due to its celebrity association; and should respect it origins and roots. Just think about it.

The recipe will feed up to six greedy people for sure, so we have eaten some today and will reheat tomorrow for our evening supper and some to spare. Although I have written two Scotch Bonnets in the recipe instructions, I should be honest and point out that there is only one whole Scotch Bonnet in this pot, you can keep the seeds in it if you wish, but I won't begrudge you if you do wish to remove them.

Saturday, 26 September 2015

What I like about this Roasted Balsamic Beetroot Galette with thyme is its appearance. It looks warming, with its fiery flame red and sunset yellow colours. This is perfect as it compliments Vegan Mofo prompt today which is 'Its cold and rainy and there's a snow drift outside your door. What are you going to make using the ingredients you have. I usually have lots of dried beans, pulses and grains - but the one veg that shows its versatility during the autumn and wintry season is the beetroot - from cakes to steaks. curriesto wobbly jelly.I have used two different beetroots in the galette. A Golden Beetroot and the traditional crimson-red. I sliced the beetroot, then doused it generously with some good olive oil and good balsamic vinegar and allowed it to roast until it was tender. I must emphasize the importance of good olive oil and good balsamic vinegar here, its essential as these two ingredients make the beetroot the star of the dish, without them - it would be too earthy.

Whilst it was roasted Balsamic Beetroot slices were cooling, I got on with making the galette pastry. The the sliced beetroot is piled high in the galette before being baked. For those of you wondering what the red colouring is around the galette border, I dabbed some of the roasted balsamic beetroot juices around it mostly for effect. It not the first time I have coloured my beetroot pastry.

Friday, 25 September 2015

Food from the Indian Sub-Continent is what I grew up with and I love its diversity, but when I left home for University all those years ago, I discovered a whole world of global vegetarian cuisine from Italian, Spanish, Japanese, Moroccan, Malaysian, Thai, Greek, Turkish, Irish, Scottish and Mexican. Vegan Mofo prompt today is to share your favourite cuisine. Its hard to choose one cuisine that i favour over others, but I can hands down say what dish I really really like - Vegetarian Chilli. Although the Mexican cuisine I had in Scotland and Wales has never ever authentic, more Tex - Mex style, I developed a taste for Mexican flavours and vegetarian Chilli in its many incarnations became my favourite go to meal. Perhaps the first vegetarian Chilli I ever had was made with soya mince. Later when I started making my own vegan Chilli from scratch, it was always made borlotti, pinto or kidney beans, then I discovered black turtle beans and this dish became my favourite for many reasons. Its spices, its adaptability, the way it made me feel, the many memories associated with it that relate to my boyfriend now husband and much more. I know Vegetarian Chilli stems from Tex Mex cuisine, and without getting into the politics of food I just want to simply say that I love the flavours and its become part of my repertoire. I don't make vegan chilli for friends now, as I like to give them a more sophisticated and thought out menu, but I do make it every so often for us, but also for my nephews and nieces if and when they choose to come over and hang out with me.

Anyway, I made a big batch of this Green and Black Chilli to last us a few days for the working week. It has marrow, some french beans, runner beans from the garden and to finish it off some fragrant coriander - my favourite herb.

This vegan chilli is made with black turtle beans, spices such as cumin, coriander and oregano. The only part that changes now and again are the vegetables - depending on the season. Sometimes it a mixture of bell peppers, beetroot, some times it pumpkin or butternut squash and some times, like now its with green vegetables. If i had courgette and some broccoli, perhaps that would have gone into it too. And sometimes its just a mix of various vegetables.

Due to work related distractions and tiredness, I have been missing Five on Friday since it began again at the start of September, but I thought no I will join in today and share Five things in my favourite room - Cooks Library come Dining Room. Come, let me explain why it has two names

This Dining room is where we would entertain guests, family and friends should they ever come over. Trouble is because we live in the valley s and a little out the way, sadly we haven't had many diners sit at the table, except for us in the evenings or at the weekend when we have a proper cooked breakfast. We only made this big purchase of dining table and chairs quite recently are quite pleased with it, but as I said only our bottoms have graced those chairs. I describe this room as so-called dining room, because this room actually is the Cooks Library - my library. The room houses all of my cookbooks, D says I am like a squirrel with my cookbooks hiding them like nuts in various places; in this case every room (except the bathroom), but the majority are in this room.

As you enter the Cooks Library aka the dining room, you are welcomed by this charming Sikh guard. We picked him up from an Auction as a house-warming present to ourselves when we moved here. He has a large crack at the front, but I think it adds character and a little charm.

I call these three Persian female characters in headscarves my Angry Aunties, just look at their facial expressions and the pout stern mouths. They give me that disapproving look because I married outside of my cultural heritage. Actually, D got them for me as he liked them, they do make me smile sitting on one of the bookshelves, next to a 3D Butterfly card sent to me by my beautiful friend Leah. Note to self - I must write back.

This odd shaped hand crafted Teapot planter was purchased by D when we went on our late honeymoon to Paris. I have to admit, I was not convinced by his impulsive purchase as it cost lots, but he told me to not begrudge it as it was a reminder of our time together in Paris, I still have reservations about it. I like it, but I don't think it was worth the euros we spent on it, but that is me. I am too afraid to put cactus plants in it, in case the water seeps through and damages it, so its sits there with some pot pourri.

And finally, something from the kitchen: Roasted Balsamic Beetroot Galette made with red and yellow beetroot . Please do pop on over to Five on Friday hosted by Amy at Love Made My Hometo see what other bloggers have shared.

Thursday, 24 September 2015

The last time I used the Red Camargue was for a Roasted Butternut Squash and Pepper Salad and then when rediscovered it whilst looking for another grain and thought, why not. I actually ended up using the red rice for two dishes: as an accompaniment and then with left-overs, I decided to make this salad with it, making the most of our homegrown tomatoes. This Red Rice Tomato Salad turned out to reflect the weather outside, autumnal. The colours of the trees are certainly changing from lush greens to handsome shades of brown: sepia, ochre russet, terracotta, tawny and gold.

I don't normally do dishes like this for the two of us, unless I have guests, as its one to impress as its quite colourful and pretty . Its also a little fussy and involves lots of little ingredients to build the Salad, but once its done, its worth it as it makes you feel kinda special.

The salad is not just visually pretty, but it packs quite a punch too but in the nicest of ways, so not to offend. No hot spices in this salad, it is simply enhanced by the natural juices coming from the tomatoes, but also a light dressing of pomegranate finished by a light scattering of Za'atar or Dukkah if you have it, its not essential though as it just adds another layer of texture and flavour. I am sharing this Autumnal Red Rice Salad with Healthy Fridays ; Fabulous Foodie Fridays and Gluten Free Fridays.

Wednesday, 23 September 2015

I am not a lazy person when it comes to making pastry from scratch. I make pies all the time, but I wanted to make a different style of pastry this time, both easier and perhaps lighter. I've been enjoying making sweet Galettes with homegrown fruit, so a savoury one was just waiting to be eagerly made.

Its my first time baking with spelt flour, and I thought it would be a lot more sturdy to hold the filling,, but the recipe I followed from a blog that I hadn't previously used a recipe from, sadly the pastry just collapsed and crumbled. Despite the spelt pastry falling apart, the pastry was crisp and biscuity in texture and this balanced well with the sweetness coming from the roasted sweet potatoes.

As I had really enjoyed VPud 'Black Pudding' last time, I was very keen to get my hands on some more to make this particular galette as I have been imagining this combo would work well together. And it did, the vegan Black Pudding surprising spice kick offsets the sweetness from the orange sweet potatoes beautifully, and the red onions just give it that additional contrast. I would be more than happy to make this again, just with a more reliable spelt pastry recipe. I have recently made one with a mixture of plain flour and spelt flour, so the recipe which I share below is still in its testing stage, so subject to change.

I think the colours in this Galette compliment Vegan Mofo's prompt today which happens to be 'Autumn Equinox Eats'. The colours are orange, gold, and dusky dark brown - the colour of changing autumnal leaves. Autumn is my favourite season. I look forward to pulling on my jumpers and cardigans, gloves, crochet mitts and various knitted hats. I am sharing this Galette with Fabulous Foodie Fridays. and The Pastry Callenge as my Galette base, although an unsucessful one was made from scratch. It is hosted by United Cakedom and Jen's Food.

Tuesday, 22 September 2015

I do struggle to know what to do with runner beans in the culinary sense, but I do like growing them in my garden. So with the prompt being 'use all seasonal produce', I was excited as it gave me the opportunity to use some of the runner beans as well as some of the cherry tomatoes tumbling from the greenhouse. Oh I must not forget the last of the purple french beans too, that turn green on cooking.

I made a recipe called Harissa Runner Beans that I saw in the cookbook Veggiestan. The only thing that I did differently was use Blodyn Aur Lemon Infused Rapeseed Oil, hence the Lemon Harissa Runner Beans. The recipe reminded me of a lot of Sri Lankan Ceylonese Runner Beans that I made many years ago, as well as some cooked in paprika.

We had these simply with Jacket Potatoes. I have also made some Green Chilli or Verdi Chilli to sound more interesting with runner beans and green beans, but I will share that later in the week.

Monday, 21 September 2015

The same neighbour that gave us some cherries a little while back, knocked on our door and handed us over a bag of the reddest apples I have ever seen in my life. He is growing them for home brewing - cider production. They are good eaters and I have been taking some into work to munch on, but I will do some baking with them too.

As well as tomatoes, I harvested the last of the runner beans and purple beans.

Sadly I don't think I will be getting any Rainbow Swiss chard from the garden, but I did get a handful of black Tuscan kale.

Some Cherry tomatoes had fallen to the ground in the greenhouse, D brought them in and placed them in the windowsill to ripen.

And finally these are the last of the plums. Here is a Cinnamon Plum and Almond Galette that I made.

The plums may be gone, but fortunately we now have Autumn raspberries coming along nicely, so I will share them with you next week. I am sharing this harvest with Daphne's Dandelions for Harvest Monday.

Sunday, 20 September 2015

Because of my South Asian features and heritage, a lot of people who don't know me stereotypically assume I just specialise in food from the Indian Sub-Continent. And yes, although I can make a mean killer Chickpea Curry and Creamy Lentil Dal, I have always branched out and made other worldly vegetarian cuisines. I don't and have never wanted to be put into an 'ethnic' box. I have always avoided tokenism at work where people have used their ethnicity to progress; or permitted employers to use their photograph in promotional materials, when in reality the organisation was doing very little in relation to workplace diversity and addressing inequality, and I am sad to say such tokenism occurs somewhat in cooking too. I refuse to play that game and be a stereotype. I have and will always continue to remain true to myself. I am diverse person and love cooking ethnically diverse world wide cuisine. Saying all this, I am very aware and proud of my roots and heritage, I just don't make a big thing of it. Okay back to cooking, I am a self-taught cook, though I would be a liar if I didn't admit to my mother showing me how to make an awesome flaky Paratha filled with spicy cauliflower and onion; and tasty Onion and Spinach Bhaji's aka Pakoras, but in relation to other cuisine - I am self taught as I fell in love with cooking when when I had to fend myself at University.

Vegan Mofo prompt today is to 'veganize an old family recipe'. I come from a family that does not write down recipes, cook from cookbooks, from television programmes etc. Recipes are simply passed on from a family member or friends to another. We learn by watching and doing, this is my way of saying I don't have a family recipe to share. So instead I share with you one of my husband favourite Indian style recipes.: Cauliflower Curry aka Gobi Salan.

Thursday, 17 September 2015

Today you can call me a 'vegan taff', I won't mind. Taff is a slang word that was often used to describe a person from Wales. There are a few different explanations to its origins, some say it refers to the River Taff (which sounds more likely) and others claim its is derived from the Welsh name David pronounced Dafydd in Wales. I remember being called Taffy quite clearly when I was small, especially whenever I would visit distant relatives in England, their neighbours would hear our accent and shout out 'taffy's' here.

Anyway, today's prompt is 'make or eat a traditional local dish' and tomorrow's is 'honour a human (or non-human) that inspires yours veganism'. So I thought I would take the opportunity to share a post that I shared last year for Vegan Mofo, as this touches on both: it is filled with lots of Welsh vegan goodness, some traditional and some original and its respectfully acknowledges St David, the patron Saint of Wales who was a vegetarian. St David only ate bread, herbs, vegetables and bread and drank only water.

Wednesday, 16 September 2015

I have come to enjoy home grown tomatoes, not pureed to a pulp in a soup or mushed for a pasta sauce, not roasted or de-hydrated either, but completely natural in their own right. It wasn't always this way though, I used to find them rather bland and tasteless. Let me tell you something, in the early 2000 when I graduated and got a job with this big organisation, I used to have to attend formal dinner party events, award ceremonies and that kind of thing. Well the most innovative Western inspired starter this vegetarian would often get served (and I write this with some sarcasm) would be a 1970s style large beef tomato hollowed out and then stuffed with some herby grain like barley. I would not mind that much at all had the star of the plate, this fruit (and yes tomato is a fruit) been deliriously tasty, instead it was often insipid, tough and tasteless and the filling was either under done (chalky) or overcooked (mushy), never just right. I did not want to see or eat another stuffed tomato ever again (and I have not).

Then I began growing my own tomatoes from seed, it all began with this blog really. I loved admiring our prize tomatoes and moreso loved inviting people both in reality and virtually into our Greenhouse (2009). Things happened and the growing antics came to a halt and getting the passion back to growing both vegetables in the ground and tomatoes in the greenhouse has certainly taken its time, but it is returning slowly, especially when we harvest the fruits of our labour and are reminded once again that you cannot buy or see such beautiful specimens at the supermarket or even at the green grocers. I have especially loved harvesting these rather stunning buxom 'Black Russian' tomatoes that I have dubbed Gothic tomato. My husband jokes often,' we may not be financially rich, but we are rich in tomatoes'. Compared to last year, yes we are rich in tomato goodness. Our tomatoes are doing fabulously as for the rest of the garden vegetables - well I better not talk about them.

So with the tomatoes tumbling literally from the greenhouse, we have been finding simple ways to enjoy them, mostly plain as a salad with a little seasoning and dried herbs, mostly mint. We have also been having easy meals like tarts - simply slice the tomatoes and lay on puff pasty with herbs and seasoning and bake - a healthy kind of pizza without the cheese.

The tomatoes are really sweet, juicy and succulent - some of these puff pastry tarts have had soggy bottoms, but we have not minded that - the taste of the tomatoes is certainly one you cannot buy that easily.

Tuesday, 15 September 2015

I made this Green and Yellow Summer Vegetable Minestrone a couple of weeks back with homegrown golden yellow courgette and runner beans, though I have to admit the sweetcorn and peas both at the height of the season have come from the freezer. I know shame on me, call myself a seasonal cook. Anyway, this Minestrone was fresh and tasty. The courgettes had crunch, the runner beans imparted that faint beany flavour, the peas and sweetcorn were sweet and the broth light and fragrant from both fresh basil and min. But there is a but....

I was not convinced by the addition of rice, so maybe next time I would replace the rice by stirring in some baby pasta, but that is no criticism to the dish itself, it tasted alright and if presented wit it again, I would happily eat it especially on a breezy day like today.

Monday, 14 September 2015

The prompt today gave me the chuckles 'Share something vegan (and delicious, duh) with a non-vegan'. Well I am the non-vegan here participating in Vegan Mofo and everything I have been making this month has been vegan and pretty delicious. But I haven't kept it all to myself. I have been very generous with my kitchen experiments taking some of my edible creations to family and some into work and sharing with friends and colleagues, some are vegetarian, but most are omnivores.

Here are some dishes that I have recently shared with non-vegans and non-vegetarians in my life. First up is an Ethiopian and Ertirean inspired Zigni Broth based on the more familiar D'ba Zigni. This one has sweet potatoes and spinach. It was the first time some of them had tried an Ethiopian and Eritrean food and like me were surprised at how spicy it was.

Next we have a vegetarian chilli. You can't go wrong with a vegetarian chilli with family and friends, and then go and shock them further by telling them its vegan too. I created this Chocolate Beetroot Chilli one not long ago and everyone who had a bowl full raved about not just how stunning it looked, but how fabulous it tasted too.

Sunday, 13 September 2015

I have been working this weekend, so you will have to forgive me with what is going to be a short post on two subjects I quite like - my kitchen and cookbooks. In the past five years, I have lived in three different places and therefore cooked in three different kitchens. The first was in my flat when I lived in Glasgow. I had a really tiny eclectic kitchen which I absolutely fell in love with. I made a little film of it before packing up for our inevitable move to Wales. Then we had the kitchen in my rented abode; and finally our new place also in Wales, it's not my dream house or my dream kitchen - but it is home and its where I want to be most of the time.

So I share with you a glimpse of my kitchen from the hallway. Some posts you may be interested in reading that are related to my new Welsh kitchen and more recently vegan month in my kitchen. I do have to point out, although I have started to get back into cooking again, I have come to realise that I am not in 'into this space', as I want to be. Its simply because its dark. The window looks out upon a wall, the wall that separates our home from the neighbours. So I am not looking out at the garden or a pretty view, but this mostly disappoints as there is hardly any natural light coming in, which means the light indoors always has to be turned on when I am in the kitchen, even to make a cuppa tea, so it feels really un-natural and brings me down a little. And please don't be deceived at how bright it looks in the picture above, the flash was on and the shutter was real slow to catch the light. Anyway, to brighten it up more and make it more welcoming to my psyche, I have ordered some wall paper border. I hope to share it with my readers when it arrives, I am pretty excited about it, small things make a big difference and slowly I will put y stamp on it. Next the prompt for Vegan Mofo yesterday was favourite cookbook, its hard to choose one - but I a huge fan of the vegetarian chef and cookbook writer Nadine Abensur. Nadine Abensur is perhaps the number one vegetarian cook who has influenced me and got me cooking out of the so-called vegetable box, injecting bold beautiful flavours into traditional fare, but also experimenting with worldly ingredients. If you haven't checked out her cookbooks and your a veggie, then I would recommend that you do so. She to me is what Ottolenghi is for some cooks.

Friday, 11 September 2015

These days, I don't have much energy to cook from scratch when I get in from work unless its something like pasta such as Spaghetti dish, but strangely enough I did actually make this Three Pea Tagine after work in the late evening. I was rather surprised that I had both the energy and the inclination. This was one of those days, when i decided to myself that I was not going to plonk myself in front of either the computer or sofa and instead use those couple of hours a little more usefully, then laze. Other than making couscous, grub was made and it was plenty to last us two days if not more.

Its actually a relatively easy recipe, after sauteing the onions, garlic and spices, you could happily leave it for 40 - 45 minutes for the yellow split peas to cook in the vegetable stock, then stir in the remaining ingredients such as chickpeas, raisins, green peas, cherry tomatoes which happen to be home gown for 10 minutes and its pretty much done. Its not like a risotto when you have to hover over it. This Three Pea Tagine has green peas from the freezer, chickpeas from a tin and split yellow peas from the kitchen store cupboard.

And anyone who eats, lentils, legumes and pulses will know that they are packed full of nutrients, so I am not going to preach to the converted. Just enjoy, this very autumnal looking bowl. I can feel myself breaking out into....all the leaves are brown.... The Mamas and the Papa's song 'California Dreamin....' Find the recipe here, bookmarked from Snackistan.

Thursday, 10 September 2015

I love this photograph taken by my husband in my first year of blogging.

The blueberries which are cupped beautifully in the hands of my nephew are from my garden which makes this picture even more more memorable for me.

So back to 2015, and I am pleased to say that half of the blueberries in this Galette are homegrown, and the other half are from the Fruit Machine. The size of the blueberries from the grocery van and mine were vast. I had some apples at home, as you can see they have shrivelled, but the end result of the galette was oozy luscious blueberry kiss. The galette is not the neatest I've ever made, but it was like a sugary cosy blanket for the fruit inside. D has requested that I make it again, I shall - just with different fruit.

You may be interested to note that around this time last year I shared this Wild Blueberry Swirl Bundt Cake for Vegan Mofo, so with the prompt being blue - I thought why not share it again. If you look close, you can just about see the wild blueberry preserve swirls and some fresh ones that have burst.

About Me

est. 2008 a Welsh Not For Profit Blog: showing the versatility of vegetables and fruits by sharing and creating delicious platefuls of food inspired by the many diverse 'ethnic' world cuisines from sweet to savoury!
I have over 1500 vegetarian and vegan recipes. Please explore my culinary blog space with some honest random thoughts and things thrown in too.